States in a muddle over its own future

But no one, it seems, has told the States as it got itself tied in a myriad of knots over when to hold the next general election just weeks after committing to a date.

Bouncing up and down like a yo-yo was one member's description. It was apt, there was little clarity of thought coming from the chamber – all the traits that had tainted its past, the old normal.

The contrast with the swift decision-making shown by the Civil Contingencies Authority in handling the coronavirus outbreak was stark.

On 15 April the States decided to vote itself an extra year in office to give continuity to navigate the economic recovery and guarantee that a safe election can be held.

Yesterday five earlier election months were back on the table, with the pros and cons being mulled over, over and over again. The issue was not that the topic was being revisited, but how that was conducted.

The place the island finds itself in now is very different to what was anticipated when the original decision was made. We are accelerating through the exit plan phases, with no new cases recorded for the last three weeks.

It would lack credibility for this Assembly to be clinging on while the rest of the island had returned to work, to school and to living within the Bailiwick bubble. Before the crisis hit it was a deeply unpopular body. While the CCA has clawed back credibility for those who sit on it, that magic dust has not been sprinkled very far.

To stay on while all around them had moved on would be incongruous.

Everyone wants to ensure a free, fair and democratic election – the States' Assembly and Constitution Committee now has some flexibility to see whether a second wave bubbles up or not and make its recommendations about a November, March, April or May election accordingly.

That there remain so many months in the melting pot is an indication of some of the muddled thinking at play yesterday – it is that kind of thing the public wants rid of.